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Will your husband put you in a care home?

Women are more likely to find themselves in a care home than men because of their husbands.

This is the finding of a new study conducted by researchers at Queen's University Belfast, which found that women are 40 per cent more likely to be admitted to a care home because their older husbands are too frail to look after them.

Upon analysis of data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study, it was found that of the 20,830 people aged 65 and over living in a two person household, women are more likely to have a spouse that is older than them by five years or more.

While incidences of illness increased with age in both sexes, women generally had sicker partners, except in the 85 year or older groups.

Consequently, when they themselves become ill, there is no one capable of taking care of them in their own house and thus choose to go into a care home.

The news follows calls for the government to increase funding to social care services, which are vital in supporting the country's aging population.